EU cash will fund solar lights for fishers
Pending final closing, the Electrification Financing Initiative has announced it is considering private equity investments of €1.5 million to two French firms operating in Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal, and $1.5 million to a Tanzanian business operating in Tanzania and Uganda.
Tanzania buys solar power from small independent power producers
Three solar plants totaling 15.4 MW will sell power to Tanesco under a PPA. The projects are being developed under new rules enabling independent power producers to participate in the country’s energy market.
African utilities wary of threat from renewables
The rise of clean energy and prosumers, net metering and greenhouse gas regulation all figure among the bogeymen as far as national electric companies are concerned.
Off-grid solar changes lives – but could help many more of the world’s energy poor
A study has attempted to provide detailed analysis of the beneficial impact off-grid renewables, led by solar, are having on people in the world’s least developed countries.
PowerGen closes funding for electricity access for a million people
The microgrid utility has raised enough capital from Shell New Energies to deploy systems across sub-Saharan Africa.
Off-grid solar sector witnesses sales of 4.1 million products in six months
Industry body Gogla and the World Bank’s Lighting Global program said the last six months set a record for off-grid solar deployment. Solar home systems and other small off-grid appliances are being used in ever larger numbers.
CBEA lets loose first $5.5 million for 60 minigrids in Tanzania
Crossboundary Energy Access (CBEA) was established in January with large investment contributions from Rockefeller and Shell Foundations. The funding facility, which said it would work to unlock $11 billion in funding for the electrification of 100 million people in Africa, has penciled its first transaction with PowerGen Renewable Energy.
African nations could install 30 GW by 2030: BSW-Solar
A new report analyzing 10 solar markets throughout Africa claims that the continent’s PV market could expand from about 5 GW at present to up to 30 GW by the end of the next decade.
Off-grid solar could bring electricity to 740 million people by 2022
As RP Global starts work on 11 solar hybrid mini-grids on Lake Victoria that will supply electricity to 160,000 people, analyst Wood Mackenzie has released a report stating how increased capital flows in the sector may still fall short of securing universal electricity access by 2030. Nonetheless, off-grid solar is the cheapest and most viable solution for remote areas and attracts investment from fossil fuel majors and venture capital funds.
Shell Foundation and Rockefeller support $11bn African mini-grids fund
Crossboundary Energy Access – which claims to be the continent’s first mini-grid financing facility – wants to unlock $11 billion in private capital to bring energy to 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Raising capital has been a struggle despite mini-grids being lauded as a solid solution for electrification.
